Conrad Von Soest ― Painter Among Merchant Princes

This book is the first fully illustrated and comprehensive monograph devoted to the Westphalian artist Conrad von Soest, who played a pivotal role in the development of North European art around 1400, and whose elegant and luxurious altarpieces highlight a fascinating period of German social and economic history.
His complete oeuvre is reproduced here in 34 colour plates as well as a host of black and white, detail and comparative illustrations. Among the works are the famous Niederwildungen and Dortmund altarpieces as well as the smaller scale panels which project in their rich and exquisitely painted figures both the importance of their subjects and the sophistication of their donors.
Dr Corley has researched Conrad's work in depth setting it in the context of his period and his early training in Paris in the 1380s. His iconography and style are analyzed, particularly the vibrant and vigourous under-drawing revealed by infra-red photography which has helped the author to establish, among the works attributed to him, which of these were from his hand and which by his workshop or imitators. Finally, she has traced his legacy throughout the countries in the sphere of the Hanseatic League and his influence over later German masters of the School of Cologne. A detailed Catalogue and an extensive Bibliography establish the known corpus of his oeuvre.